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Three days later, Zayd woke up feeling refreshed. He could not feel a single bit of pain.

It was Friday today. He had nearly been able to avoid having to go to school for nearly a week now. Pre-emptively, he felt a headache at all the missing work he'd have to complete.

"Alright, I'm leaving Aunt Naomi!"

"See you later!" She shouted back from her room. Sometimes, she was able to not go to her workplace instead- she worked from home occasionally.

---

As he walked along the road, Zayd passed by the alleyway where he encountered the man named 'Hanzo'.

'Why would he be hanging about with those gangsters? For a guy who beat up a 16-year-old high school student, he seemed pretty decent. It doesn't make sense.'

Various thoughts crossed Zayd's mind, 'Hanzo' seemed to have great skills- however, it was still strange why he was involved in the underground.

Nonetheless, he soon arrived at school with his thoughts still a mess. Clearing his mind before entering, Zayd sighed from laziness.

---

Making his way to his desk, the people who sat next to his desk were talking loudly. It was a group of 4 consisting of two boys and two girls.

Zayd wasn't bothered to remember their names. It was a waste considering he never interacted with them.

"Um, Zayd-san, Miss Kazuhashi wanted you to go to the faculty office when you got back." One of the girls spoke out to him.

Even though he had been in Japan for longer than he had been in the UK, he still felt weird not calling people by their first name. To lessen the awkwardness Zayd felt, he clarified his preference of being called by his first name.

"Okay, thanks."

Turning 180 degrees, Zayd exited the classroom. Quickly, he looked at his watch, so he saw there was still a lot of time left before homeroom, arriving at the faculty office- he entered before walking to the first member of staff he saw.

"Excuse me, could I know where Miss Hazukashi is?" Zayd asked.

"I believe she should still be over by the coffee machine."

Once the coffee machine entered his sight, Zayd spotted a woman standing not far from it with shoulder-length, onyx-black hair. Her long legs made her taller than average females standing at 5 feet and 8 inches. Her facial features were enticing as a woman in her prime her thin, pink lips were tempting. Dressed in a white blouse and a black skirt that reached just above her knees, she emanated a youthful aura that contrasted the mature vibe of her clothes. She was wearing heels that seemed to be two or three inches high, which made her close to being level with Zayd, who stood at 5 foot 11 inches.

She held a cup of coffee that seemed to be very fresh, perhaps only a minute old.

"I thought you were trying to quit drinking coffee?" Zayd's voice surprised the woman as she jumped, nearly dropping the cup in her hands.

"Oh, Zayd, you scared me! It's like a jumpscare in a horror movie or something." She giggled in a silly manner before she remembered she was supposed to be doing her job. She coughed to alleviate her sudden fright. "Follow me- we need to speak regarding your absence."

"Lead the way."

---

Sitting down opposite Miss Hazukashi, Zayd listened intently as she spoke.

"So, first of all, the work you missed out on. This week has been filled to the brim with content relating to all subjects. I remember what you were like in Middle School, Zayd. You've always been lazy, so I spoke to your teachers and made a list of what you need to catch up on."

Miss Hazukashi had indeed known Zayd since Middle School, as fate would have it, Zayd had her as his homeroom teacher for three years in a row. She had transferred from his Middle School to his High School, and by coincidence, became his Homeroom teacher again.

It was safe to say that while Zayd never really had friends his age, he somehow got along rather well with people older than him.

'She has always been quite caring, hasn't she?' Zayd thought as he zoned out slightly.

"Anyway, these are for you," Miss Hazukashi said as she slid the prepared material over which Zayd placed into his bag. "Alright, now that that's out of the way, how have you been?" Miss Hazukashi said as she got up from the chair sitting next to Zayd on the small couch within her office-cubby thing. She crossed her mesmerising long legs that were to die for with a cute smile still on her face.

"Well, you'll be happy to hear that I get into fewer fights now," Zayd said.

"Really? I don't believe you. It's been what, 4 weeks since I last properly talked to you?"

"Yeah, well, whatever... I see your point... Never mind that, why are you still drinking coffee? Who was it that said they were going to cut it out of their life?" Now that the distance between the two was shorter, he could smell the strong scent of coffee on her breath even greater.

"I know, I know... It's only been for the last three days anyway. Up until then, I had been clean since about... the middle of March, I think..." Miss Hazukashi said as her right index finger circled the rim of the cup of coffee.

"It sounds like you were doing great: why did you start drinking coffee again?" Zayd's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Ever since coming to work here, it's been great. I enjoy the job. But, I keep getting stressed out." She took a sip of coffee.

'She's not saying anything else. Let's get rid of that coffee first.'

"Give me the coffee." Speaking sternly, Zayd grabbed the coffee. Walking over to the bin, he dumped the coffee before returning to where he sat.

"Zayd, what are you doing?" She said in confusion.

"Come closer, Himari." Zayd put her head on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around her waist, which trembled slightly. "Do you remember when you did this for me back then? In Middle School?"

"Yeah, except I didn't have my arm around your waist- why are you so warm?" She said as though it bothered her. It didn't.

'...So comfy...' She thought.

"Yeah, I was feeling terrible back then. Kids are horrible creatures." Zayd said. "Go on then, what's wrong." As he spoke, he felt her grow stiff.

"I Everyone here is older than me, and I feel like- like I have to do as well as them. I've seen them teaching, and they are all so good at it. Look, I-I know it seems dumb-"

"No, it's not dumb. That's perfectly normal to feel that way. Has anyone told you that it had to be that way, Himari? Has anyone been telling you that you're not good enough? Because if there is even the slightest chance that was true, we wouldn't be here, would we? You got this job, and that is all that matters."

Himari went silent at Zayd's words.

Sadly, they were interrupted by the bell.

"Think about my words," Zayd said softly. He used his free hand to turn her face towards him. "Oh, and by the way, you've got coffee on your face still." His thumb rubbed the smidge of coffee on the edge of her lips, stunning Himari.

With that, he abruptly got up.

"Time for Homeroom. I'll come back at lunch. I made some food the other day, and oh my... was it delicious. You can try some later."

---

On his way out of the faculty room, a poster fell off the wall and drifted down to Zayd's feet.

Picking it up, Zayd looked at it briefly.

'An advertisement for boxing lessons? Done by one of the sports teachers? Huh... it's on today. I'll think about it later because I can't be bothered right now.'